Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Finally a Kelly for the gallery, surprised this didn't happen sooner. Chris Kelly is a great guy and this bike looks to be great as well. I love bikes with an apparent color theme---and blue is a good color.

Daniels said: "Attached are some pics of my Kelly Knobbie X. I Actually built it up over a year ago, so it is not particularly new anymore - It's been raced one season and is about ready to start up a second.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Interbike being only days away, and we already have something to add to our list of things we'll always want but never actually buy.....the new Alpha Q CX20 fork. Lighter and supposedly reduced brake chatter is what the CX20 offers over the previous model.

Although it looks a little funky with the reverse curved legs, its kinda cool. If youre saving for your kid's braces or college...crooked teeth are the new black and just tell Timmy to be good in a ball sport as his ticket into higher education...this fork is $569.

Maybe this means we can get the "old" and "heavy" predecessor for peanuts?

Monday, September 11, 2006

Sacramento, my cx alma mater, is having their first cyclocross race this weekend. The series kicks off with the Folsom Rodeo. I did it last year, and found it to be pretty challenging, that is until my wheels flatted. There were a lot of flats there last year. I wouldn't show up unless you're running rim strips or Tufo Slime in your wheels.

Another cool rig to post up to the Plus One Lap Handbuilt Gallery. This one is Daniel's Ellsworth. The first Ellsworth to the gallery, this one's actually a dual gallery bike too, as it weighs in at 17.25 lbs.

He said,"Thought readers might get a kick out of this one-off Ellsworth Cross bike. Sort of a cross (heh) between an Ellsworth Roots and their Sub-22 mountain frame. Pics attached. Here are the specs (and no, it is not for sale):

Three of these ever made. Only two out in the world--Tony Ellsworth kept one for himself. Crazy geometry, but works for me. I'm 5' 10" with a long torso. This is like a compact frame, but with a level top-tube for easy portage. Overall ride amazing. Never had a bike that so reads my mind in terms of handling. I'm not the best barrier bunny-hopper, but this bike makes it pretty straightforward. Rides exactly like a high-end hardtail mountainbike off road and sprints like a road bike on. That rear triangle is something special. Supple yet unbelievably stiff. I'm really stoked about the start of the season.

Cool site. Happy to be able to have my bike hanging out with those other sweet rigs.

Cheers"

Thanks Daniel! Yeah I'm getting excited about the season too, and I like your homemade barrier, looks solid.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Surfing the web for an article I read a few years ago (and still havent refound), I refound something else I read a few years ago. Its an archive of some pretty cool discussions between some guys like Sheldon Brown, Jobst Brandt etc.

Like, "MACHINED RIMS! This has got to be the stupidest idea since hard anodizing. My rims are machined the first time I ride in the rain, and who needs it. Rims have been made without machining certainly for more than 50 years with imperceptible joints."--Jobst Brandt

{link to the UseNet archives} From fork failures to tire aging, these guys discussed a lot of things. These archives are from the rec.bicycles newsgroups of the mid to late 90's, but still a lot of good info there.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Recently, I posted some links on how to's for remounting and bunnyhopping. Thought I'd dig up a video I shot last season to show this in CX action. More vid links, click "more..." below.

Note: If you click directly on the "play" button in the middle, it will play in the current window, if you click somewhere on the image it will take you to the YouTube page and will play a little larger on their site.

Rich Maile's in white, they duked it out for nearly the entire race, it was fun to watch.